


Old Flames and New Games

by DorianGayy



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drug Use, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I have no regrets, I love Grantaire and for some reason I love hurting the ones I love so I wrote this, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Multi, Original Character(s), Past Drug Addiction, Patron-Minette - Freeform, Slow Burn, Violence, enjoy the ride, like they're still a gang but they're good people, she's the love of my life I promise she's chill, the patron minette are good (kinda), they kill and rob old straight corrupt white men, this is full of my own head canons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-04-15 02:35:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14150085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorianGayy/pseuds/DorianGayy
Summary: When Enjolras cheats on him and the Amis distance themselves from him Grantiare finds himself lost and finds himself relying on a group of people from his past.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I appreciate ideas and comments from you guys so don't be afraid to leave a comment or anything!  
> I haven't written a fic in a couple years so I'm open to all form of criticism.

Paris at night was a sight to be seen. The narrow streets were lit by shops windows and street lights. The sounds of cars and people up late could be heard from almost anywhere. And there was always the drunk tourist stumbling around, drunk on the beauty and good wine Paris has to offer. 

Grantiare couldn't stand it. 

The cynic grimaced at the loud voices of the high school students up past their curfew. The bright lights of the cars did nothing but make his ever-present headache worse. He wasted all his money on good wine and whiskey from any bar he could find. The only thing numbing him now was his own thoughts. 

Life had been good. He had a group of people around him who radiated positivity and accepted him for all his flaws. Jehan would braid flowers into his curls while he would joke drunkenly with Bahorel and Feuilly. He would jokingly flirt with Courfeyrac and talk Classics with Combeferre. He spent many of his nights on Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta’s couch watching horrible horror movies. He made fun of Marius for his crush on Cosette and talked with Cosette about almost everything. Eponine was his other half. And then there was Enjolras. 

Enjolras was everything Grantaire could ask for. He was brilliant, beautiful, bright, charming. 

Their relationship starts out on the wrong foot, with arguing and glares across rooms. But everything changed at Courfeyracs 20th birthday. After a little too much champagne, Enjolras walked up to Grantaire, grabbed him by the collar and kissed him in front of everybody. 

It had been the best day of his life. 

Grantaire spent the next year and a half on cloud nine, surrounded by his friends and so in love with Enjolras it was ridiculous. 

Grantiare should have known none of it would last. 

Jehan would get tired of him never being able to sit still, Bahorel and Feuilly wouldn’t want to get drunk every night. Courfeyrac would stop finding things to compliment him on, Combeferre would get bored of him. Joly, Bossuet and Musichetta would get tired of him always being at their apartment. Marius would get bored of him and Cosette would find better people to talk to. 

The one that hit him the hardest is the one he should have been ready for. Enjolras finding someone better than him. 

~ 2 weeks earlier ~ 

He let himself fall into a false sense of happiness with Enjolras. He should have noticed when Enjolras stopped initiated kisses, or when he stopped texting first, but he was oblivious to all the warning signs. And then one day, he went over to check on Enjolras because he hadn’t heard from him in over 3 days. He used his key to Enjolras’s place - that Enjolras gave him for their one year anniversary - to let himself in. 

He froze as soon as he walked in. 

He could hear them from the bedroom down the hall. 

Enjolras moaning. 

The bed creaking. 

A girl moaning. 

A girl moaning. 

Grantiare quietly closed the front door. He silently walked into the living room. It was the only part of the apartment he kept his art supplies in. The smell of paint bothered Enjolras and he never wanted it in the bedroom. He slowly picked up his things and left his key on the coffee table.

He felt like he was in a trance. He didn’t know what was happening. The only thing tying him to reality was the feel of the tears streaming down his face. He walked back to the front door and quietly opened it again. But this time as he left he slammed it shut. The flower pot hanging by the door shaking and dropping dirt down onto the ground. 

He ran as fast as he could home. 

~ Back to present ~ 

He’s walking along the banks of the Seine, headphones in and ignoring everything around him. He sees a bench ahead of him and decides to sit on it and watch the cars and people go by. He sits on it, the cold of the metal seeping through his jeans. Across the street he sees a young couple, a boy and a girl, holding hands and strolling down the street. It takes him longer than he likes to realize it’s Marius and Cosette. 

By now he can’t look away. He watched them as they walked to the corner and walk into a small restaurant Grantiare’s never been to. He looks in the window and see’s all his friends - his old friends- sitting at a large table right by the window. He feels his chest tighten and his throat closes up but he is unable to look away. 

Then he sees them. 

At the head of the table sits Enjolras, looking like the golden God he is, but next to him sits a blonde girl. Enjolras has his arm around her waist. She leans in and kisses Enjolras on the cheek. 

Grantaire gets up and runs. He doesn’t know where he’s going but he can’t be anywhere around there. 

He runs for what feels like hours until he can’t breathe anymore. His panting slowly begins to turn into sobbing as he slides down an alley wall. He sits on the dirty ground and cries until he feels like he can’t cry anymore. 

After wards he sits there staring at the wall in front of him, numb and unmoving. He ignores the cold seeping through his clothes or the drizzle that has started to fall. 

He does notice however when someone comes and stands next to him. He looks down at the person's feet, heels and skinny jeans - could be anyone - but what catches his attention is the ankle tattoo. A rose filled in with a rainbow of colour, he has a matching one on his ankle. 

“Auriele,” he says, his voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. 

“You’re going to catch your death down there R.” She responds taking a step closer. He shrugs and leans his head against the wall, looking up at her. 

She’s still taller than him, her hair is the same shade of dark brown as his, falling to her shoulders in light waves. She uncrosses her arms and grabs his arms, pulling him up off the ground. 

“My car is around the corner, come on babe.” She grabs his hand and walks, he trails behind her, the warmth from her hand grounding him. She lets go of his hand when they reach her car, she opens the passenger door and helps his in, putting his seatbelt on for him and closing the door before going around and getting into the driver side herself. 

She turns on the heat and cranks it up, “Knew these heated seats would come in handy for more than keeping chicken nuggets warm.” 

Grantaire leans his head against the window as she begins to drive. He notices that they are driving in the direction of his place. His chest warms sightly at the thought that she still remembered how to get there. But it disappears when he remembers that his apartment is filled with reminders of Enjolras and his old friends. 

“Can we go to your place instead?” He asked, looking over at her. She looks over at him, her eyes filled with understanding and compassion. No pity. She never looked at him with pity. She didn’t say anything, just turned to another street and started in the direction of her own place. 

Grantaire looked out his window, the sound of his and Auriele’s breathing lulling him into sleep. He closed his eyes and that was all he remembered from that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to know Auriele a little more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the wait but I’ve been in the hospital for the last week and a half and it’s been really tough. I got home last night and I wanted to post the next chapter so I’m posting this and I’m sorry it’s not very long but I promise there will be another update later this week once I feel a little better! Once again all feedback is much appreciated!!

He woke up warm, the faint sound of tv in the background. He laid in the comfortable bed for a little while longer and took in the room around him. It smelled like sweet perfume, the walls were a light blue which contrasted the dark dresser and desk. A huge window was on the left side of the room, the windowsill was covered in plants and books. 

Grantaire smiled and sat up. He pushed the covers off him and noticed he was in different clothes. He was in light grey track pants that were a little too big for him and a black long sleeve that he recognized as part of his high school gym uniform. 

He noticed his phone charging on the bedside table and unplugged it. 

1:37pm 

He sighed and shut his phone off. His only class for the day had started at twelve. No point now. He sat there staring out the window for a couple minutes before a knock on the door startled him. He quickly turned around and saw Auriele leaning against the door frame. Her hair was down and she was wearing a pair of grey track pants, much like the ones Grantaire was wearing, and a black sports bra. I’m her hands was a bag from McDonalds. 

She smiled and raised the bag, “I’m still a firm believer in greasy food being the best cure to a hangover’ she said before walking over and sitting across from Grantaire on the bed. 

He grinned and leaned against the headboard, “I’m pretty sure that’s the exact reason you had to have your gallbladder removed ‘Rele.” He said with a slight laugh. 

She laughed quietly and began unpacking the bag. “I got to stare at hot nurses for 3 weeks so I’m not complaining ‘Taire.” The two smiles at each other and began eating. 

A comfortable silence fell upon the two of them as they ate. There was no need for conversation as they ate. 

After they had finished eating and had failed to try and throw the garbage into the garbage can across the room from the bed, the two of them layed next to each other on the bed and stared at the ceiling. 

“I missed you.” Auriele said, breaking the silence. Without hesitation Grantaire responded, “I’m sorry.” Auriele looked over at him her eyes intense but not angry. “I know. Trust me, had I had a group of optimistic and attractive people suddenly show interest in me I would have fucking dropped you like a hot plate. If I was upset, you would know.” She said moving over so her head was on his shoulder. 

Grantaire closed his eyes and took a deep breathe. It came out shakier then he wanted it to and Auriele noticed. She quickly sat up and looked at him, “R I swear I’m not mad at you, oh please don’t cry I’m shit at comforting crying people.” She said panicked. 

He shook his head quickly and took a deep breathe to steady his breathing and get rid of the lump that had started to form in his throat. He sat up and looked at her. She looked concerned and upset. He could tell by the way her eyebrow was twitching. He was suddenly hit by this wave of emotion and before he could react a sob tore through his throat and he started to cry. Before he could try and calm himself down, Auriele wrapped her arms around him and his face fell into the crook of her neck. 

“Names.” She said. 

He lifted his head and looked up at her confused, “What?”

She pulled away from the hug and put her hands in his shoulder so she could look him in the eyes. 

“I want all the names of those assholes so that I can fucking kill them. A bonus if you tell me where I can find them.” She said seriously. 

He sighed and closed his eyes. 

“It’s not worth it ‘Rele. It’s a long story.” He replied. She let go of his shoulder and turned to lean against the headboard. 

“Well then thank fuck I don’t have class until Monday


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confrontation?

Auriele was sitting in her car across the street from the address that Grantiare gave her. She had been sitting there for twenty minutes watching small groups of two or three slowly trickle into the Cafe Musain. 

6 pm slowly started to get closer, and the closer it got the more familiar faces she began to notice. 

The skinny red-head who reminded her of a pixie walked in hand in hand with a boy with curls almost as messy as Grantaire, she recognized Cosette but didn’t recognize the frail freckled boy with her. 

She recognized no one else until five to 6 when a tall dark-skinned man with forearms covered in tattoos showed up with Eponine. Auriele’s sat up straight as she saw Eponine laughing and kissing the man on the cheek. She remembered Grantaire telling her that one day Eponine just stopped texting and calling him back. She watched as they walked into the cafe and when they disappeared from her view she got out of her car and locked it before walking across the street and going into the cafe herself. 

She walked in and saw Eponine and the stranger go up a flight of stairs on the right side of the cafe. Auriele took off her sunglasses and walked to the counter, the barista was a small woman with a short bob, her name tag reading Fantine. 

“Hello welcome to the Cafe Musain, what may I get you?” She askes, her voice light and kind. Auriele smiled, “Just a coffee please, two milk two sugar.” She reached into her purse for a ten. She handed it to Fantine. 

“Keep the change.” She said when Fantine went to give her the difference. Fantine smiled and turned to make her drink. Auriele leaned against the counter, “Can you tell me about the meeting upstairs?” She asks. 

Fantine continues to work as she answers. “They call themselves ‘Les Amis de L’ABC, they are a group of student revolutionaries from the Sorbonne. Bright young individuals” A smile graces Fantine's face. 

“Do they take walk-ins?” Auriele asks. Fantine nodded as she handed her the coffee. “They are always open to new people!” 

Auriele took the coffee and gave Fantine a sweet smile. “Perfect. Merci madam.” 

Fantine waved as Auriele turned and walked up the staircases. 

————————

She got to the top of the stairs and stopped in front of a door. She could hear laughing coming from the other side. Her hands clench before she knocks on the door. 

The door is opened and she is greeted by the curly haired boy. She gives him a huge smile which he returns. 

“Bonjour Mademoiselle, how may I help you?” He asks cheerfully. 

“Is this Les Amis?” She asks, pushing her hair behind her ear, she hears a cup drop onto the table and a chair being pushed back, 

“Courfeyrac move.” A female voice said, Courfeyrac looked confused and moved away from the door and Auriele smiled and put her arms out for a hug. 

“Eponine, my love!” She said walking to Eponine and giving her a hug. Eponine was still and did not return the hug. 

“Eponine you know who this girl is?” A voice from the front of the room said, Auriele turned to look at the voice and came face to face with a tall blonde man. 

Oh, so this was Enjolras. 

“No-“ 

“We grew up together” Auriele cut Eponine off. She gives Enjolras her hand to shake. “I’m Auriele, it’s a pleasure.” 

He looks at her hand before shaking it and introducing himself back “Enjolras.” 

Eponine steps forwards grabs Aurieles arm and whispers, “What the fuck are you doing here Auriele?” 

Auriele takes her arm back, “Can I not come visit you and see where you disappeared too ‘Ponine?” She sits down in an empty chair and courses her legs. “Eponine why don’t you stop being a bitch and introduce your friends to me?” She smiles. “I know Courfeyrac, Cosette and Enjolras’ name, but the rest of them might as well all be named Jean.” 

Red-haired pixie is the first to speak. “I’m Jehan.” 

Next spoke up Bossuet, the bald man in the suit, Followed by the skinny male with the cane who called himself Joly. 

The woman at the bar spoke next and introduced herself as Musichetta. The skinny boy sitting with Cosette came up and shook her hand and said his name was Marius. 

The man who entered with Eponine introduced himself as Combeferre. 

And lastly, the freckled man and the burly man in the back corner introduced themselves as Fueilly and Bahorel. 

“Is this your whole group?” Auriele asked, looking Eponine dead in the eyes. Eponine did not answer and everyone else began looking between the two girls and each other. 

“Eponine?” Auriele repeats. 

“Yes,” Eponine responds. “This is everyone.” 

Auriele clenches her jaw and scowls at Eponine. Eponine stares back at her, daring her to challenge her. Auriele stood up and slowly walked up to Eponine, the only sound in the room was the sound of her heeled boots against the wood. 

“You fucking bitch.” She says as she reaches Eponine, their faces at level. “You piece of fucking shit. After everything, he fucking did for you, after all of the shit you and us went through your just going to pretend that he doesn’t exist anymore!” She starts yelling, not caring who heard her.   
Enjolras took a step forward, “I don’t know what your problem is but you have no right to yell at Eponine-“ 

“Shut the fuck up Enjolras or I swear to God I will rip off your dick.” She said turning her head to glare at him. She then turned back to look at Eponine who had gone white. 

“I considered you a sister Eponine. We dealt with all-out shit together! We grew up in the fucking slums together and we all took care of each other! And then you become friends with some privileged university students and you think it’s okay to drop Grantiare like you did!” She yelled 

“You don’t know anything!” Eponine yelled back. 

“I know the blonde luffa over there cheated on him with some bitch and that the rest of you dropped him and stopped talking to him! I know Enough Thernadier!” Auriele yells, Eponine physically flinches at the sound of her family name. 

The entire room fell silent, Auriele couldn’t even hear the sound of the cafe below anymore. 

"What happened to you Eponine?" She asks, her voice considerable quieter. 

Eponine had been her best friend, they grew up together. She helped her take care of Gavroche and Azelma. She let them stay at her tiny little house when both her parents and their parents went away for 'work'. She was the one who comforted Eponine after he first heartbreak and then helped her beat the guy up afterwards. 

"I grew the fuck up Auriele. I'm sorry I didn't want to spend my whole life as scum off the street! My life needs a purpose and I wasn't going to find it as a street rat!" Eponine raises her voice and takes a step forward. 

Auriele wants to slap her. She wants her rings to cut Eponine's cheek and make her bleed. She wants to hurt her. She wants to hurt Enjolras for breaking Grantaire heart. She wants to hurt them all for the way they hurt Grantaire. 

But she wouldn't. Because Grantaire still loved them for some fucking reason and it would just hurt them more. 

She took a step back and grabbed her coffee from where she put it on the table. She turned to look at Eponine for the last time. 

"I hope you burn in hell. And I swear to fucking God, if any single one of you goes anywhere near Grantaire ever again, I will kill you," she then turns to look at Enjolras, "And that's a promise." 

She turns and leaves, she slams the door shut behind her before taking a deep breathe and walking calmly down the stairs. As she reaches the bottom she makes eye contact with Fantine, whose eyes look slightly red.   
She reaches under the counter and pulls out a white box with the cafe's logo on it. 

"His favourite pastry was always the apple turnover," Fantine said, pushing the box towards Auriele, "Give these to him please." 

Auriele takes the box and smiles at the woman, 'I'll tell him you give your love." She says. 

Fantine smiles, "Please do." 

Auriele turns and walks out of the cafe, hyper-aware of the stares coming from the second-floor window as she gets in her car and drives home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the wait! School has been so hectic and I wanted to get a chapter out before it get's worse because of my surgery and my exams!! 
> 
> Also, let me know in the comments if I should do a Les Amis redemption arc cause I'm stuck between two different paths for this story!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grantiare gets settled in his new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helllooo everybody. So as I stated in the weird not chapter thing I posted a couple hours ago I'm home on recovery from surgery and I am not lucid enough to actually be productive! This chapter might still be a little bit of a mess because the pain meds messed with my head but I really needed to get something out to you guys cause it's been around a month! I'm gonna put out at least one more update before the end of the month cause the end of the month is both my 18th birthday and my high school grad so I will be pretty occupied until about the second week of July! Anyways let me know your thoughts and if you guys want to make any guesses as to what is going to happen put them in the comments!

He found some sketches stuck between the pages of his art history textbook.

One of Eponine, her hair up in a bun, a beer in her hand and her head tilted back as she laughed

One of Jehan, flowers braided into their hair, and their freckles were made up of constellations

Another was a half-finished one of Joly curled up in an armchair.

The last one was one of Enjolras. It was one of the last ones he ever drew of him. He was sitting in his bed, shirtless with the sheets pooling around his waist. His hair was a mess of blonde curls and he was wearing his reading glasses.

He had been smiling as Grantaire tried to draw him.

Grantaire put the sketches down on the kitchen island and pushed his textbook away. Any motivation he had to study was gone.

The apartment was quiet. Montparnasse had disappeared an hour ago with the promise of a surprise when he got back. Auriele was asleep in her own room.

She had gotten home a little after Montparnasse left, dropped off a box from the Cafe Musain on the island, kissed Grantaire on the forehead and went straight to her room. He hadn’t opened the box yet. The sight of the logo made his stomach drop.

There had been a meeting today. They had all stopped texting him reminders a week after he and Enjolras broke up.

“Either put those sketches somewhere I can’t see them or I’m going to burn them.” Auriele’s voice came from behind him. He turned to look at her and couldn’t help but smile.

She was in pink pyjama shorts and a faded One Direction t-shirt.

She walked up and sat on the stool next to him, she picked up the sketches and looked them over.

She raised the one of Enjolras and waved it in the air, “I called him a blonde luffa earlier today. I swear at least two of those fuckers chuckled.” She stated before putting it down and picking up Eponine's. She stared at it for a little too long, a sadness filling her eyes. It was gone soon after.

She put down the sketch and turned to look at Grantaire, she smiled and tucked one of his curls behind his ear.

“Monty said he was coming back with a surprise.” He said.

Auriele chuckled, “Weed. He’s getting us weed.”

 

————————————

 

Montparnasse returned an hour later.

“Told you he was getting weed,” Auriele said from her spot on the living room couch. They had moved there to watch reruns of RuPaul’s Drag Race.  
“I cried when Eureka went home and I’m not afraid to admit it,” Montparnasse says as he kicks off his shoes and joins them on the couch. He takes a pouch from his pocket and throws it over to Auriele.

“I rolled the joints in my car before I got back because you fucking suck at it.” He said, throwing his arm over the back of the couch and over Grantaire’s shoulders.

Auriele shut the tv off and moved to sit on the floor, she pulled out the joints and handed one to Montparnasse, she handed the other one to Grantaire and he took it without thinking.

“It’s been too long since I’ve smoked fuck,” Grantaire says, “I was never around anyone who did it” he continued.

“Fucking sucks,” Montparnasse says pulling out his lighter, he leans over to Grantaire and Grantaire puts the joint in his mouth so that Montparnasse can light it for him. Montparnasse lights Aurieles as Grantaire takes a drag.

 

———————————————

 

Grantaire was awake and it was 4 in the morning.

The high had worn off sometime around 1 and now he just felt empty.

He was squished between Auriele and Montparnasse in the former's bed. For some reason, the three of them had decided that sharing a bed was a great idea and Grantiare was starting to remember why he hadn’t exactly missed smoking.

He slowly moved Montparnasse’s arm from where it was laying across his chest and got out of bed. He grabbed his sketchbook from the dresser and sat in the chair by the desk. He turned to face the bed and opened the book and turned to a new page.

He grabbed a pencil from the desk and been to draw the sleeping figures.

Auriele was sleeping on her back, one leg falling off the bed and he hair tangled around her head, Montparnasse who had shifted in his sleep to take over the space left by Grantaire, was on his stomach, the arm that had been on Grantaire chest was now across Auriele’s abdomen.

Grantiare took extra care to add in the surgical scars on Auriele’s abdomen and the tiny Andromeda galaxy tattoo on Montparnasse’s shoulder blade.

Grantaire allowed himself to smile as he fell into the rhythm of sketching.

 

——————————————————-

 

A month had gone by now.

Grantaire has been staying with Auriele and Montparnasse for a month. The three of them had transformed Auriele’s old office into a room for Grantaire last weekend and the two of them had surprised him with a new set of easels and expensive oil paints.

Right now he was home alone watching infomercials in the living room. Auriele and Montparnasse had left a little around 7 pm and would not return until well into the next morning.

Grantaire wasn’t stupid, he knew that the two of them had taken over of the Patron-Minette after Monty’s father died two years ago. He appreciated that they weren’t trying to recruit him back in at the moment.

He never thought he’d be back in this circle of people again and he highly doubts the rest of the Minette would welcome him back as fast as Auriele and Monty had.

He had mentioned helping out in some way to Auriele the other day and she hadn’t turned the idea down but she made the valid point of that Grantaire was nowhere stable enough to get involved with Minette’s business right now.

He hadn’t argued and had instead made himself comfortable on the couch as the two of them left, Auriele with a kiss on his cheek and Montparnasse with a wink.

It had been fine in the beginning but now he was beyond bored. He took out his phone and sent a text to their group chat,

 

**_To: the gayest house ever_ **

 

**_GrandR: I’m adopting a cat_ **

**_MontyPython: No_ **

**_TheRealSlimShady: I’m intrigued_ **

**_GrandR: I’m lonely I need company and yOU 2 ARENT HERE_ **

**_MontyPython: My bad that I’m working my ass off to put food on our table_ **

**_TheRealSlimShady: Oh shut up Mont you don’t do anything you just sit there and look pretty_ **

**_MontyPython: Bitch_ **

**_GrandR: So like can we get a cat_ **

**_TheRealSlimShady: yes. And Monty doesn’t get a say cause he sucks_ **

**_MontyPython: Fuck you_ **

**_MontyPython: can we name it Selkie_ **

**_TheRealSlimShady: We’ll hit up Floreal in the morning cause she mentioned kittens a couple weeks back. And she’s been bugging me for months to come to visit u R but I told her u needed some time to settle_ **

**_TheRealSlimShady: She’s gonna explode soon I think_ **

**_GrandR: wait does everyone know I’m back?????_ **

**_GrandR: ??????????_ **

**_MontyPython: ye_ **

**_TheRealSlimShady: mmhm_ **

**_MontyPython: IM SORRY I DIDN’T KNOW WE WEREN’T TELLING ANYONE_ **

**_GrandR: fucking big mouth_ **

**_MontyPython: you know it_** bby ** _;)_**

**_TheRealSlimShady:_ ew _that’s gay_**

**_MontyPython: stop talking about urself in third person_** rele

**_TheRealSlimShady: bitch_ **

GrandR: ** _aren’t you two working????_**

 

Grantaire closed the group chat and put his phone on his lap. He surfed through the channels until he came onto some shitty action movie with too little plot and too many explosions.

He got bored twenty minutes in and pushed the blanket off of his legs and made his way to the kitchen, leaving his phone on the couch.

He went to the fridge which was covered in a mess of aggressive post-it notes and miscellaneous sketches that Grantaire drew of Auriele and Montparnasse that the pair would not let him throw away.

He opened the fridge and pulled out a cheese stick and a bottle of beer. He used the counter of the island to open the beer and took a large swig from it. It wasn’t wine but it would do.

He had tried to cut down his on his drinking for months because it always led to more fights with Enjolras if he was drunk.

He should have realized something was up when Enolras stopped yelling at him for coming home drunk and instead just rolled over to face away from him in bed.

Grantaire shook his head and forced the thought of Enjolras out of his mind with another swig of beer. He finished the drink in two more swigs and ate the cheese stick.

He heard his phone go off with a text in the other room and ignored it in favour of grabbing a second beer.

When he returned to the living room he put the drink down on the coffee table and picked up his phone. He pressed the home button and almost dropped his phone on the hardwood floor.

 

**_1 unread message: Jehan_ **


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grantaire feels like he's dying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY IT'S BEEN 2 MONTHS. For once in my life I've actually done stuff with my summer and I'm working all the time so I'm so sorry. I start Uni in 2 weeks so I will try really hard to pump out another chapter soon but it might be another month if I get lazy again. Anyways enjoy!

Grantaire was frozen. He stared down at his phone screen for a good five minutes before he gained control of his body again.

Jehan had texted him. Why had Jehan texted him?

His thumb hovered over the notification, anticipation and anxiety filling his nerves. He clicked it and it automatically took him to his conversation with Jehan.

 

_**New Message From Jehan** _

_**Jehan: Hey R, I know we haven’t spoken in a while and that a lot of things have gone down in the past couple months but I really need to talk to you. We miss you R, all of us. Please talk to me.** _

 

Then another text came through.

 

_**New Message From Jollllllllllly** _

_**Jolllllllllllly: Hi R, wanna**_ come _ **grab a coffee with me and Bossuet tomorrow morning? We need to talk to you.**_

_**Jollllllllllly: Hey it’s Bossuet, my phone is broken, I miss you buddy you just disappeared on us. Please come to coffee with us.** _

 

Grantaire turned his phone screen off and threw it onto the chair across the room. He said down on the couch, staring at the television which was playing the same crappy action movie from earlier.

For the first time in about a month, Grantaire was speechless. He ran his hands through his hair, tugging on it slightly before he leaned back and closed his eyes.

Auriele and Montparnasse wouldn’t be home for a couple hours and he didn’t want to seem clingy and call them.

Being clingy is what got him in this huge mess in the first place.

He thought back to Jehan’s text, all of us. He highly doubted Enjolras missed him. Enjolras had cheated on him, why would he miss him. He wasn’t allowed to miss him.

Grantaire took a deep breath to prevent himself from crying. He stood up and walked over to his phone, ignoring the two texts he opened up the group chat,

  
_**To: the gayest house ever** _

_**GrandR: bring back something stronger than the fucking beer in the fridge. I’ll cover half of it, don’t care what it**_ is just make _ **sure it’s strong**_

 _ **MontyPython:**_ wait _ **drugs or alcohol ???**_

_**TheRealSlimShady: I’ll grab some tequila.** _

_**GrandR: love you see you** _

 

He put his phone down and headed into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, he sat down at the kitchen island for about 20 minutes.

By then it was almost 3 in the morning and he had another 3 hours before anyone returned home so he decided to head back to the living room and lay down on the couch. He tried to get some sleep but every time he closed his eyes images of Enjolras and Jehan and Joly and Eponine and everyone else showed up in his mind.

He could feel the tears that were running down his cheeks but he didn’t have enough energy to try and stop crying.

When he finally did close his eyes he opened them to see light streaming in from the window and Auriele sitting on the edge of the sofa looking down at him with concern all over he face. He could feel her hands running through his hair.

“Hey baby,” she said, her voice soft and quiet. “I brought some tequila but you already had a couple beers and a bad hangover is not recommended so I had Monty hide it.” She continued

Grantaire leaned his head into her hands and let out a small sigh, “He hid it in the box under the third stair.”

Auriele let out a small laugh, “Most likely yeah.”

“I have no idea how that boy is the leader of Paris’s most notorious gang. He hides everything in the same spot."

“That’s where I come in, he’s beauty, I’m the brains and the brawn.”

Grantaire slowly sits up crossing his legs and allowing Auriele to do the same until they were facing each other on the couch.

“What happened?” She asks, looking at Grantaire.

Not having the energy to respond, Grantaire grabs his cell phone and hands it to her. She takes it and then gives him a curious look before putting in his passcode and having the screen open up to her messages.

He sees her press onto one conversation, her jaw clenching, then she opens the other one and he see’s the scowl that grows on her face. She looks up at him,

“Stay here.”

She gets up, taking his phone with him and runs up the stairs, she is gone for about 2 minutes before returning with Montparnasse.

He has his hair in a towel and he is wearing a pair of SpongeBob pyjamas but the look on his face is murderous.

“Who the FUCK do they think they are!” He yells, standing behind the couch. He looks at Grantaire, “Who the fuck-“

“I don’t know,” Grantaire responds, his voice flat and sad.

A look comes over Monty’s face that Grantaire can’t read, it’s gone just as quickly as it came.  
Grantaire hears Auriele say, “I have a plan and it’s perfect.”

The two men look over at her and she sits back on the couch facing Grantaire, “You are going to agree to meet up with them. Hear me out,” she says the last part to Monty who looked like he was about to cut in. “Meet up with them, do it at the Musain or whatever the fuck that place was called. However, me and Monty will also be there, two tables down. I’ll wear a hat or something and they won’t recognize Monty so he doesn’t need a disguise. That way if the fuckers do something I don’t like I’m within fighting distance.”

“Yes, good plan.” Monty agreed, taking the towel out of his hair and drying it. He looked at Grantaire,

“Text them back with a time and place, then go get dressed. Same goes for me and Auriele. We’ll meet back here in 30 minutes.”

“I need more time than that to get ready,” Auriele says, motioning to her wrinkled clothes and messy hair,

Montparnasse raises an eyebrow, “Sounds like a you problem, not a me problem.”

Grantaire chuckled and let out a small smile, he sent both of them a text to meet him at the Musain at 2 pm.

After that Auriele and Montparnasse disappeared upstairs and returned exactly 30 minutes later.

Auriele looked at Grantaire who hadn’t moved from his spot, “Aren’t you going to change R?”

“I feel like shit, so I will look like shit. Maybe they’ll feel more guilty.” Grantaire responds.

“No. Absolutely not. You look homeless.” Montparnasse said, “Stay put.” He gave Grantaire a pointed look before running back upstairs. He came back 5 minutes later with a bag of stuff. He handed the bag to Grantaire,

“These are the nicest casual clothes you own, go put them on then I’m going to do something to your hair.” He handed Grantaire the bag and practically dragged him to the bathroom.

When they emerged about 15 minutes later Grantaire was wearing a paling black shirt with his green bomber jacket and a pair of black jeans. His hair was a little fluffier but was still his mess of curls.

“Let's just go now please,” Grantaire said, grabbing his cell phone from the coffee table and heading to the door. Auriele stands up and grabs her keys off their hook and locks the door behind the three of them as they leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grantaire felt like he was going to die.

He was sitting at a booth in the back of the Musain, Vivian and Montparnasse were seated at a table by the front window.

He was staring at the cup of coffee on the table in front of him as he waited. He had texted Joly and Jehan back and told them to meet him at the Musain at 10 am. It was 9:56 and Grantaire could hear his own heartbeat in his ears.

He heard the bell above the door jingle and he swore he could hear Auriele’s back go up. He heard footsteps walk towards his booth. He felt them sit across from him.

He looked up to see if it was Jehan or Joly.

He felt like it was dying.

It was Enjolras.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> grantaire & pain = an iconic duo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I the worst???? Yes. I'm so fucking sorry that it has been literally over 2 months since I updated. My first two months of Uni have not been easy and they still aren't but I wanted to get a chapter out to you guys because I felt so guilty and I really did miss writing this story! Please enjoy and comment if you like it! Every comment I get literally makes me smile and it was the comments from you guys that got this chapter out!

Grantaire was frozen. He was looking into the eyes of the man who broke his heart but who still held the shattered pieces. 

He felt like he was going to die. 

“No.” He didn’t even hear himself speak.

He stood up. His hands were shaking. 

“Fuck you, no.” He shook his head and made a be-line for the door. He could vaguely hear Enjolras call his name and he could hear his footsteps behind him. 

He felt a hand grab his wrist and pull him back, Enjolras turned Grantaire around to face him but before Enjolras could even say anything Grantaire slapped him across the face. 

The whole cafe went quiet. 

“Don’t you fucking touch me.” Grantaire hissed, he pulled his arm back and turned his back on a stunned Enjolras. 

He turned to leave but saw the door being blocked by Jehan and Joly, both of whom looked just as shocked as Enjolras. 

“Get out of my way.” He told them. Jehan shook his head, “Grantaire please we need to talk.” 

In the corner of his vision, he saw Auriele and Montparnasse stand up, but they stayed at the table. 

Grantaire laughed, “No we don’t. I’m not talking with any of you again.” He looked back at Enjolras who had taken a step closer to him, his check red and his eyes pleading with Grantaire. “I’m fucking done with all you. Leave me the fuck alone.” He looked back at Jehan and Joly, both of whom looked like they were about to cry. 

“Grantaire please.” Joly pleaded. 

“Fine,” Auriele spoke. She walked over and stood beside Grantaire, gently wrapping her hand around his bicep. “You wanna talk to him you can talk. But we are going to my apartment to do it.” She too looked over at Enjolras before whispering in Grantaire's ear, “At least there I can kill them with no witnesses.” 

She turned back to Enjolras and the motioned for the door, “Cheaters first.” She said with a smirk on her face. Enjolras went red in the face and looked as if he was going to say something before he looked at Grantaire and then simply walked towards the door. 

“Parnasse, drive Grantaire home in your car, please. I’m gonna head over with luffa and the other two I’ll see you there.” That was the last thing she said before she followed Enjolras to the door and grabbed Joly and Jehan by their arms as she walked out. 

Grantaire’s whole body went slack the moment the door closed. He sat down on the nearest chair and thanked every God he didn’t believe in that the cafe was practically empty. He heard Monty pull the chair next to him out and sit next to him. 

“Let’s get you some water and then we’ll head home okay. No rush.” Montparnasse's voice was soft and quiet.  
A glass of water was placed in front of him and he looked up to see Fantine. She was smiling at him, not a smile full of pity but rather a smile full of compassion and love. She kissed the top of his head before walked back to the counter to take orders. 

He took the class and downed the whole thing in one go. 

“Well, that's one day of doing it,” Montparnasse said a smile on his face. Grantaire smiled back and stood up. 

“Let’s go. The faster we get this over with the earlier I can get drunk.” 

————————

Auriele was having fun watching them squirm. 

They had been at the apartment for about 5 minutes and Grantaire had just texted her saying they would be there in 10. She was sitting on the coffee table with one leg crossed over the other, her arms were crossed as she stared at the three figures on her couch. 

They all sat close together and were trying to take up as little space as possible it seemed. They also were looking everywhere except at her. Luffa, looked the most uncomfortable, he was also staring at the far right corner where Grantaire has left some paintings out to dry. 

“So I don’t really know your names and I also don’t fucking care but I’m trying to be nice for Grantaires sake so I might as well learn them.” 

She posted at Luffa, “You’re Enjolras,” she pointed at the skinny guy with the cane, “You’re Joly?” and finally she pointed at pixie, “and you’re Jehan?” 

Jehan nodded, “Yes.” 

“Good.” She said nothing else and she stared at them in silence for the next 10 minutes. 

Exactly 10 minutes later the door opened and Montparnasse walked in, immediately followed by Grantaire. 

“I’m quite disappointed that you haven’t made one of them cry yet love. I was looking forward to that.” Montparnasse said as he closed the door behind Grantaire and took Grantaire’s jacket out of his hands and hung it up in the closet for him. In the corner of her eyes, she could see Enjolras watching this exchange with tense shoulders. 

She smirked again. 

“I couldn’t take all the fun for myself now could I?” She got up off the coffee table and motioned to Montparnasse, “As much as I would love to rip them a new one you and I are gonna go chill in the kitchen so that Grantaire can talk to them.” She gave a Grantaire a stern look, “Make sure you call for us if shit goes downhill okay.” Grantaire nodded. 

Without looking at the three people on her couch their couch and Montparnasse move into the kitchen. 

———————————

“Grantiare.”  
“Don’t” 

He’s made eye contact with Enjolras. Oh god. Enjolras stands up and takes a step towards Grantaire, who in turn takes a step back but bumps into the coat rack and has to steady himself. 

“No. Please Grantaire you have to hear me out and listen to me.” 

“I don’t have to listen to anything, I’m giving you the chance to explain yourself and you should be thankful you’re even getting that.” Grantaire was trying to keep his voice steady but he didn’t know how well he was pulling it off. 

Enjolras sighs, “Grantaire just calm down.” 

Grantaire felt anger rise in his chest at the sound of annoyance in Enjolras’ voice. 

“Don’t you FUCKING patronize me you absolute dick!” He yells, taking a step towards Enjolras, for who once in his life looked something close to scared. “You fucking asshole, you do not get to do what you did and then try to sneak back into my life and make it sound like I’m the bad guy!” 

Jehan stood up and reached their hands out towards Grantaire, “Grantiare.” 

“You shut up too. You two are nowhere near innocent right now.” He spat out at Jehan and Joly. Jehan sat back down and Grantaire could hear Joly’s quiet sob. 

Enjolras took a step closer to Grantiare, he looked furious and Grantaire kicked himself for still finding him so beautiful. 

“Hey! Don’t yell at them this is between you and me.” 

Grantaire chuckled, “Then why did you need them to get me to meet up with you?” 

“Because you wouldn’t have responded if it was me.” 

“Yeah, no shit Enjolras! What did you expect? You fucking cheated on me! Did you expect me to come crawling back to you and begging for you to love me again?” 

Enjolras didn’t say anything, he just stared at Grantaire. 

He didn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. 

“Did you really think that little of me?” He whispered. He didn’t even let Enjolras talk. 

“Get out.” 

“Grantaire.” 

“Get out right now. If all three of you aren’t gone in the next minute I will physically remove you from this fucking house.” 

Joly and Jehan got up and moved to stand next to Enjolras but also slightly behind him. 

“Grantaire please listen.” That was Joly.  
“I never want to see any of you ever again. Do you hear me.” This time he didn’t even try to hide how his voice was cracking and shaking. 

He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, holding it open. 

“Please leave.” He stared at the clock on the wall across from him as the three people walked out. Jehan was the last to walk out the door and Grantaire slammed the door behind them, he could hear the flower pot outside the door fall and break followed by fast moving footsteps. 

He heard the kitchen door slowly open and turned to look at it. It was Montparnasse. He took a couple steps towards Grantaire. 

All of the anger Grantaire had been feeling left his body and was suddenly replaced with anguish and a pain so bad he was convinced he could be dying. 

He let out a sob and fell to the ground, leaning against the front door. 

He felt arms wrap around him and a hand running through his hair. He leaned into Montparnasse and let himself cry.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's see some things from the perspective of the Amis (but mostly Combeferre)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....hi so Uni is killing me and I know its been 3 months and I've been working on this for like 2 months but i never had the time to actually write it but then I was like 'Fuck it' so i took my notes and just wrote this! Im so sorry!! I can't promise I'll update faster but I promise it wont be another 3 months!
> 
> Love you all and enjoy this self indulgent mess because I love Ferre and couldn't make him a bad guy!

Enjolras slammed the car door behind him and he exited the passenger side, he stormed up towards the apartment building where he lived with Combeferre as Jehan and Joly ran to catch up with him. He flashed the doorman his building ID and he let all three of them in. The elevator ride up was quiet and tense. When they reached the apartment and Enjolras unlocked the door they saw everybody waiting in their living room. Enjolras greets nobody and continues to storm off into his room. 

“So how did it go?” Bahorel asks Joly and Jehan. Jehan sighs before walking over to Courfeyrac and laying in his lap. “Ask Enjolras. I don’t wanna talk about it.” Joly nods in agreement before sitting between Bossuet and Musichetta who instantly wrap their arm around their boyfriend. 

No one says anything for about two minutes but then Combeferre stand up, “I’ll go talk to him.” He kisses Eponine on the cheek before walking off to Enjolras’s room. 

Courfeyrac starting running his fingers through Jehan’s hair, slowly undoing the braid. He knew that something bad had happened and the Jehan wouldn’t want to talk about it, he looked up and over Bossuet and Chetta who were doing something similar with Joly. He sighed and leaned back against the couch, they had to figure something out, and quickly. 

Combeferre didn’t even bother knocking on Enjolras’s door, just opened it and closed it behind him. Enjolras was sitting on the edge of the bed, playing with his fingers as he bounced his leg. Combeferre sat down next to him but didn’t try and touch him. 

“So how did it go?” He receives a glare from Enjolras. 

“How do you think it went? I fucked it up.” Was the response he was given. 

“No, you fucked it up when you slept with Marie and tried to bring her into the friend group. If you fucked it up more than that I will be genuinely surprised.” Combeferre responds. Enjolras groans and lays back on the bed, Combeferre moves so that he is sitting completely on the bed and faces Enjolras. 

“Enjolras” 

“I’m bad at expressing my emotions,” Enjolras says, quieter than before. 

Combeferre smirks before replying, “Oh really? How did you come to that conclusion?” 

“Fuck off. I wasn’t done talking.” 

“Sorry, continue.” Combeferre grabs one of the pillows and puts it in his lap and leans on it, watching Enjolras and waiting. 

“I'm bad at expressing my emotions and I fucked it up even more okay! I wanted to talk to him to try and explain and to try to get him to forgive me but he took it the wrong way and not only does he hate me more, he never wants to see any of us again!” Enjolras began getting riles up, his fair cheeks were a brighter red and his hands were balled into fists. 

“Enjolras. You cheated on him. You did one of the most horrible things you can do in a relationship. What reaction were you expecting from him? For him to come back to you and kiss you like nothing happened?” He responded, trying to keep his voice levelled and calm as not to aggravate Enjolras even more. 

Enjolras sat back up, “ Yes!- I mean no! No, I don’t deserve his forgiveness at all. But does that mean I don’t deserve to try and get it back?” His voice was beginning to shake. 

“Yeah pretty much.” 

“Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck!” Enjolras stood up and ran his hands through his hair. “I miss him ‘Ferre. I miss him so fucking much.” His voice was small and he looked like a kicked puppy. 

“We all do Enjolras. But we were assholes. All of us. You cheated on him and then we all started walking on eggshells around him after he found out and then we all unintentionally stopped talking to him altogether. And even though we didn’t mean to, doesn’t mean it was any less shitty and he has every right to hate us.” 

Enjolras took a deep breath and the room was silent for a couple seconds. 

“Why do you always have to be right?” Enjolras asked looking straight at Combeferre. 

Combeferre smiled, “Older, smarter, prettier. You know the drill. Now come on, I promised Courf we’d play Mario Kart and I'm anything but a liar.” He stood up and walked to the door, Enjolras behind him. 

“A month! You’re only older by a month!” Enjolras yelled as the two of them walked back into the living room laughing. 

As they walked in they were met by Chetta, who was holding two mugs. “Coffee for Combeferre, and tea for Enjolras.” She said handing then men their respective mugs. 

Enjolras took his and frowned, “Why does ‘Ferre get coffee and I get tea?” 

“Cause your already shaking and we don’t need you acting more like a little bitch!” Bahorel yelled from the couch. 

“Fuck you this is a hate crime,” Enjolras responded as he sat next to Courfeyrac on the couch.  
“If you beat me at Mario Kart I promise I will go to the kitchen myself and make you a coffee,” Bahorel responded smirking at Enjolras as he held the controllers in the air. 

Enjolras smiled and squished himself between Bahorel and Feuilly. “Bring it on bitch” 

Combeferre smiles before walking up to Eponine and touches her shoulder, she turns her head to smile at him. 

“Hey, babe.” He leans down and gives her a quick kiss before motioning to the kitchen, “Can we talk for a sec?” 

She nods and puts her mug down on the table before walking moving into the kitchen with Combeferre, she closes the door behind her and turns to face her boyfriend. 

What’s up, babe?” She asks and Combeferre sighs and leans against the counter across from her. 

“Who was the girl who came to the Musain a couple weeks ago?” He asked he wasn’t beating around the bush. 

A look of shock comes over Eponine’s face before she quickly smiles again, “No one important.” 

“Didn’t seem like that was the case. She did not look happy to see you at all, and you definitely looked like you were caught off guard by seeing her.” 

Eponine sighs, “Look, she’s just someone I know from before I met you guys. She’s not important. The less you all know about her the better okay.” 

“She obviously is connected to Grantaire and she clearly knows enough about us to call us out for how poorly we treated him! We deserve to know who she is Ep!” He was raising his voice slightly, impatience seeping in.

Tapping her fingers on the counter Eponine spoke; “Me, her, Grantaire and some other people all grew up together. And whereas I grew up and moved away from that part of my life, they didn’t. So I made the decision to cut them out of my life because I didn’t need them anymore.” 

She was clearly upset, but not in an ‘I’m sad and they hurt me so I had to leave’ way, but more in an ‘I’m annoyed to be talking about this’ way. 

“Eponine, come on. You don’t expect me to believe that’s it right?” 

“Well, it’s the explanation you’re getting!” 

“Ep-“  
“This conversation is over Combeferre.” 

Before he can say anything in response Eponine turns her back to him and storms out of the kitchen. Combeferre follows her and stays silent as she sits back down in her previous spot. He leans against the wall for about 5 minutes pretending to watch the Mario Kart tournament going on while also ignoring the glares he was receiving from his girlfriend. He gave up eventually. 

“I'm heading to bed guys, I’m exhausted. Don’t break anything while I’m in bed. Night.” He hears a chorus of ‘good nights’ as he turns and walks down the hall to his bedroom. He closes the door behind him and sits down on his bed, he looks over to his bedside table where his phone is charging. He picks it up and goes through his contacts until he finds the one labelled “?????”. 

He remembers a month ago when the girl from the Musain and a dark-haired man had come up to him as he was closing up at the library and handed him a sheet of paper with this number on it. 

“Call this when you decide you wanna be a decent human being.” Was the only thing she said before the two of them walked out, he had been shocked and he didn’t know why but he slipped the paper into his pocket and added the number to his contact as soon as he got home. 

He stared at his phone for what felt like 10 minutes before pressing the call button and waiting. After about 10 seconds a female voice picked up, “Hello?” 

“Hi, I don’t know if you remember who I am but-“  
“Glasses?”  
“Excuse me what?”  
“Library boy with the glasses? That’s who this is right? I only gave you the number to this phone.”  
This phone??  
“Uh yeah. My name is Combeferre, you told me to call when I wanted to be a decent human being? I’m assuming that this has something to do with Grantaire so I really wanted to figure this out.”  
“Mmmh.”  
“Please.”  
“Yeah yeah calm down. I’ll text you an address. When is the soonest you can meet up?”  
“Does half an hour work?”  
“See you then glasses.” 

The dial tone was the next thing Combeferre heard, he sat there for a solid ten seconds with the phone up to his before it pinged with an incoming address and he finally closed the call. He opened the text and it was the address, as promised. 

He decided he needed to get up and leave now so that he didn’t chicken out. He put his phone in his pocket before grabbing a sweater from his closet and walking back out to the living room.  
Without looking at anyone he quickly slips into his shoes and grabs his keys from the table by the door, “I forgot I had a scheduled meeting with my TA in 45 minutes so I’m heading out now, don’t worry about waiting up for me.” He says as he walks out the door. He locks and it and walks to the metro. 

Almost exactly 30 minutes later he pulls up to the address. It’s a small house at the end of a side road. He takes a deep breath and walks up the stairs. It’s colder then he thought and his sweater is doing nothing to preserve his body heat. He wastes no time in knocking on the door.  
As he waits he notices a small flower pot on the window sill, the flower has died but the names, ‘Auriele’ ‘Montparnasse’ and ‘Grantaire’ are painted on it along with some doodles. He smiles at the sight of it. 

Then suddenly the door opens and there stands the girl from the Musain, long dark hair and angry eyes. 

“Hello, Combeferre.” She says, her voice steady and strong.  
“Hello. Auriele?”  
“Correct. Now get inside I’d rather you not freeze to death on my porch.” 

She steps aside to let him in before closing the door behind him. “You can leave your shoes by the front door. The living room is to your left. I’ll boil some water, black tea all right with you?” She asks already walking away from him. 

“That’s perfect, thank you.” He replies and he toes off his shoes and turns into the living room. He doesn’t want to say he was expecting something different but he wasn’t expecting this. 

There are two small couches covered in a non-matching assortment of pillows and there are bookshelves full of books and movies and there are pictures on the walls of people he doesn’t know. He stops dead in his tracks however when he noticed the pile of paintings in the corner. The style was distinctly Grantaire and Combeferre remembers his friend, can he even call him that anymore? He walks over to them and looks them over. Many of them are just various places around Paris, the Sorbonne, the bank of the Seine, the Musain; but there are a couple that features Auriele and the dark-haired man. He also notices the lack of the Amis, not that he’s surprised by that fact, but it still hurt in a deep place in his chest. 

“Amazing aren’t they.” A voice behind him chimed. He quickly turned to see the dark haired man.  
“Yeah they are, everything he paints is.” Is what he says back. The dark haired man chuckles, “You got that right” He walks up to Combeferre and puts his hand out to shake, “Montparnasse.” 

Combeferre takes it and they shake hands, “Combeferre.” Montparnasse nods before motioning to the couch, “Let’s sit. Where did Auriele go?” Combeferre sits with him, “She went to go make tea.” Montparnasse sighs, “Ugh. She’s the only person I know who can mess up tea. This will be great.” Combeferre doesn’t know what to say so he just nods, this makes Montparnasse smile, “Not very talkative are you?” He doesn’t say anything immediately so Montparnasse continues, “Don’t worry I get it. 2 random people show up and give you a number with a cryptic message and tell you to go to a random place. I’m surprised you even showed up.” 

When he put it like that Combeferre realizes that he literally could have been kidnapped. 

“I need to know how Grantaire is. And I know Auriele grew up with him and Eponine. But Eponine won’t tell me any more than that. So I needed my own answers.” He states. 

“Did Eponine tell you anything else?”  
“Just that Auriele wasn’t important and to stay away from her.”  
“You’re horrible at listening aren’t you?”  
“Not usually.”  
“Hm. Also doesn’t surprise me she’s acting that way.”  
“I know there is more to the story but she got mad at me when I tried asking her more questions.”  
“Of course she did.”  
“What does that mean?”  
“Look I get that you two are shoving your tongues down each other's throats, but this is also not my story to tell. It’s Ep’s. But what I will tell you is that no matter what she says or how she acts, she’s nowhere near as innocent as she tries to convince herself she is.” 

Not two seconds later Auriele walks into the living room holding a tray with a steaming kettle and three cups. “Montparnasse. Thought I heard the sound of children crying.” She says smiling, she places the tray on the coffee table and sits across from Combeferre. She crosses her legs and looks directly at him. 

“So, let’s talk.”


End file.
